Mexican Navy training ship that hit Brooklyn Bridge, killing 2, was moving in the ‘wrong direction,’ city official says

A 50-yard “safety zone” has been established around the area where the damaged Mexican Navy training ship is docked after it crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge, the US Coast Guard said in a news release Sunday.

Other ships sailing around Pier 36 on the East River have been asked to “proceed at slow speed” as the NYPD provides 24/7 patrols in the safety zone, the news release detailed.

A safety zone was also established from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Manhattan Bridge after the crash Saturday night, and commercial traffic in the area was suspended, Coast Guard officials said.

The Cuauhtémoc experienced damage to all three of its masts in the caught-on-video crash, the Coast Guard confirmed.

Two crewmembers died in the incident, and the Coast Guard extended its condolences to their loved ones.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer speaks at a news conference on April 2, in Washington, DC.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday that investigators must determine if budget cuts and program cancellations by the Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency contributed in any way to the Mexican Navy training ship crashing into the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday night.

“I have the general sense of a DOGE dysfunction in parts of the Coast Guard,” Schumer said at a news conference on the federal budget. “We know that there has been meddling by the Trump administration into the Coast Guard staffing, and now we need to know how this meddling might have impacted the events of last night, from a command, communication and local coordination level.”

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

Schumer suggested that if understaffing was an issue at the Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Services, which monitors vessel movements on water similar to the FAA’s control towers for aircraft, it might have contributed to the failure to prevent the accident.

“After being fully briefed on last night’s Brooklyn Bridge accident, one thing is very clear,” Schumer said. “There are many more questions than answers as to how the accident occurred and whether it could have been prevented.”

The damaged masts of The Cuauhtémoc are seen as it sits docked at Pier 36 in New York on Sunday.

While investigators look into the crash of a Mexican Navy training ship into the Brooklyn Bridge, local authorities are focused on moving the ship so it can be repaired.

“The (National Transportation Safety Board), the Coast Guard, the government of Mexico are now working on finding a way forward with the investigation, but that’s still in the early stages of that,” Zach Iscol, the New York City Emergency Management commissioner, told CNN.

The ship is currently docked at Pier 36, where it was towed overnight after striking the bridge. Many members of the crew spent Saturday night on the ship, while the injured were cared for at hospitals.

While there is some damage to the underside of the bridge, it is not structural and transportation inspectors have determined the bridge is safe, Iscol said.

The Mexican Navy secretary pledged his support to the families of those killed and injured when one of its training ships crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge.

Two crew members died after falling from the ship’s masts, authorities said.

“From the first moment, the protocols for medical care, institutional support, and direct support for the wounded and their loved ones were activated,” he said, adding the naval command is in contact with each affected family.

Morales Ángeles also ensured that investigations into the incident will be “promptly followed up with total transparency and responsibility.”

He thanked Mexican and US authorities for their support.

Crew members were seen leaving the Cuauhtémoc on Sunday morning after staying onboard overnight.

The ship was docked at Pier 36 after it hit the Brooklyn bridge on Saturday evening, leaving at least two people dead and injuring more than a dozen others.

After the Cuauhtémoc hit the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday evening, FDNY officials called for “all hands” to help with the incident.

Officials with the FDNY Brooklyn can be heard discussing the incident in dispatch audio from Broadcastify.

Units from FDNY Manhattan received an “all hands” call to assist with the injured.

Listen to a portion of the audio here:

New York Police officers stand watch on Pier 35 where The Cuauhtémoc sits docked on Sunday.

Authorities are looking into exactly how a Mexican Navy training ship on a goodwill tour struck the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday night, killing two crew members who fell from the ship’s masts and leaving about 20 others injured.

The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a go-team to the site of the crash to investigate, the agency said Sunday, with their arrival expected late afternoon. The ship’s voyage data recorder may reveal critical information about the crash.

The ship, the Cuauhtémoc, was carrying 277 people en route to Iceland when it lost power and struck the bridge, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.

The ship was moving in the wrong direction when it hit the bridge, a senior city official with knowledge of the investigation told CNN. Cuauhtémoc’s captain said he lost steering of the vessel after the rudder stopped working, according to the senior official.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexican authorities are supporting the injured and monitoring the situation.

The Mexican Navy training ship that struck the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday was moving in the “wrong direction,” a senior city official with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.

The Cuauhtémoc had been docked at Pier 17 in Manhattan, just down the river below the Brooklyn Bridge. As it made its way out of the harbor, it was supposed to make a stop at a Bay Ridge fueling dock before heading out to sea on its way to Iceland, the official said.

“It was the current that took it under the bridge,” the person said. “It wasn’t supposed to be headed in that direction.”

Officials from different city agencies are meeting Sunday morning to determine the next steps in the response and the investigation.

According to the senior official, Cuauhtémoc’s captain has told investigators he lost steering of the vessel after the rudder stooped working.

“They had some sort of mechanical issue, they lost power so without being able to use the rudder, they could not steer,” the official said, cautioning all information is preliminary and subject to change.

The city is also investigating the role of a tug boat that can be seen in video appearing to lead the Cuauhtémoc through the river.

The senior official said city divers are expected to go into the water today to inspect the Cuauhtémoc’s rudder to determine if the ship can be moved.

The Cuauhtémoc’s crew spent the night on the ship, the senior official said. Now, city officials are working to get them off the ship and home to Mexico, the person said.

The city’s Office of the Medical Examiner is also working to repatriate the bodies of the two victims, the senior official said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a “go-team” team to New York, where a Mexican Navy training ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge, according to a post Sunday by the agency’s X account.

The team is expected to arrive late Sunday afternoon.

The damaged mast of the Mexican Navy ship Cuauhtémoc on Sunday morning, after it crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge the night before.

The Cuauhtémoc is docked now at Pier 36, where the Mexican Navy training ship was towed overnight after striking the Brooklyn Bridge.

The ship’s three masts are visibly damaged, with the splintered tip of one mast hanging at an angle, its sail twisted around it.

The Cuauhtémoc is docked at Seaport Museum in New York on Sunday.

Early Sunday morning, a group of seven crew members dressed in sailors’ uniforms boarded the ship. There has otherwise been minimal visible activity onboard so far.

Onlookers have been walking the pier throughout the morning, trying to get a glimpse of the damaged ship, but the area is blocked off to the public, and a police patrol boat has been watching over the ship.

The cargo ship Dali was trapped under the twisted remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which was destroyed when the ship collided with it earlier this week, on March 29, 2024, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Cuauhtémoc’s collision with the Brooklyn Bridge comes just 16 months after a massive cargo ship plowed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024.

The incident caused the 1.6-mile structure to crumble, plunging cars and people into the frigid water below. The Singaporean-flagged container vessel, named Dali, lost power, veered off course, and smashed into the bridge, killing six construction workers.

The Cuauhtémoc is not the first ship to hit the Brooklyn Bridge.

In 1921, the schooner Edward J. Lawrence hit the bridge while being towed beneath it. In 1935, a German freighter, Tirpitz, struck a steel girder on the bridge, bending three of the ship’s four masts. In 1986, a freighter from South Korea grazed the bottom of the bridge, The New York Times reported.

The voyage data recorder from the Mexican Navy training ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday will provide crucial information about what went wrong, one transportation expert told CNN.

The data recorder will likely provide investigators with information about both the ship’s mechanics, including any “control input” and when power may have been lost, said Mary Schiavo, CNN transportation analyst and former US Department of Transportation inspector general. It may also provide information about the river itself, such as the water’s depth and its currents.

Investigators may already have that information and be in the process of reviewing it, Schiavo said. They will also need to examine whether communication was lost at any point, she added.

Mexico will be involved in the National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the incident, Schiavo said, noting the US agency is used to performing large-scale, international investigations.

The Cuauhtémoc departs from Acapulco, Mexico, in early April.

The Cuauhtémoc departed Acapulco on the Pacific coast of Mexico on the morning of April 4, according to a news release from the Mexican Secretariat of the Navy.

The mission was “exalting the seafaring spirit, strengthening naval education, and carrying the Mexican people’s message of peace and goodwill to the seas and ports of the world,” according to the release.

Plans for the voyage included calling on 22 ports in 15 countries in 254 days. The crew was scheduled to spend 170 days sailing and 84 days in port, according to the Mexican Navy.

Stops included various Caribbean destinations such as Kingston, Jamaica, and Havana, Cuba, as well as Mexican ports, New York, and cities in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Iceland, the news release said.

The trip boasted the highest number of women in the crew, with 64 women and 213 men among the 277 members.

The navy said Cuauhtémoc has traveled the oceans and seas of the world for 42 years, with more than 43 generations of “Captains, Officers, Cadets, and Sailor personnel” on board.

The Mexican Navy ship had been docked at the South Street Seaport Museum for five days of public viewing prior to it hitting the Brooklyn Bridge, according to the museum’s website.

A spokesperson for the New York City-area Sail4th 250 events told CNN that the ship “welcomed dignitaries and media” as part of its New York stop on its global tour.

The sailing ship was expected to join the parade of international tall ships to celebrate America’s 250 anniversary on July 4, 2026, the spokesperson said, in what the event is calling “the largest-ever flotilla of tall ships from around the world.”

The ship floats off Pier 35, on the Manhattan side of the East River.

The Cuauhtémoc ship is a steel-hulled three-masted barque that’s around 300 feet long and 160 feet tall, according to a 2024 press release from one of its training cruises.

Government documents show the Brooklyn Bridge has a navigational clearance of 127 feet.

Video shot by bystanders on Saturday showed the Cuauhtémoc’s masts hitting the underside of the bridge and breaking as the vessel passed underneath, with pieces falling down toward the deck.

Two people have died and two remain in critical condition, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. Everyone is believed to be accounted for, officials said.

The Cuauhtémoc sailing ship was used for training by the Heroic Naval Military School, an elite military academy in Mexico, according to last year’s press release.

Mexico has referred to the ship as a diplomatic symbol of its country abroad.

The ship, as of last year, had visited 212 ports in 64 countries with 756,085 nautical miles sailed, the latter equivalent to making 35 trips around the world, the release said.

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum, in April.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum sent her condolences to families of the two crew members killed when a Mexican Navy sailing ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of two crew members of the Cuauhtémoc Training Ship, who lost their lives in the unfortunate accident in New York Harbor. Our sympathy and support go out to their families,” Sheinbaum said in a post on X early Sunday.

Sheinbaum said the Mexican Navy is supporting those injured in the incident, and that the Mexican ambassador to the United States and Mexican Consulate General were supporting the navy.

“We are monitoring the situation, and the Secretary of the Navy will continue to provide updates,” she added.

Mexico’s US ambassador was at the scene alongside New York officials late Saturday after the Cuauhtémoc struck the Brooklyn Bridge. The ship had been in New York as part of a global goodwill tour and was departing for Iceland at the time of the incident.

Tug boats assist the Cuauhtémoc toward a nearby pier.

The Mexican Navy training ship that struck the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday was moved to a nearby pier to allow passengers to disembark, according to a law enforcement official.

About 250 people were still on the Cuauhtémoc after its masts struck the underside of the bridge, the official said.

The ship has since been moved to New York’s Pier 36.

Remember: The tall ship was departing from Pier 17 and heading out to open sea en route to Iceland when it struck the underside of the bridge, officials earlier said.

This screengrab taken from a video appears to show people hanging from the mast of the ship shortly after it struck the Brooklyn Bridge. More than a dozen people were injured, and while no one is reported missing, two people died, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Video of the Mexican Navy training ship shortly after it struck the Brooklyn Bridge shows people hanging from at least one of its masts.

At least one person is seen clinging from a rope on the top-most rung of one mast, while several others on the top two rungs can be seen crawling to the center part of the mast. A few individuals can be seen climbing a ladder to reach those stuck.

On tall ships like the Cuauhtémoc, it is a ceremonial tradition for sailors to climb the masts and rigging when departing or arriving into harbor.

At least two people were killed in the incident, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The two individuals fell from one of the ship’s masts, a law enforcement official told CNN. They were pronounced dead after being taken to a nearby hospital, the official said.

Officials said that nobody has been declared missing.

Flavio Moreira was walking with his family along the Brooklyn promenade when the Mexican sailing ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge.

Moreira said the area was busy with people enjoying the warm Saturday evening. At first, he enjoyed seeing the Cuauhtémoc tall sailing ship in the East River, he said.

“But it just kept coming closer and closer to us, and at some point, I was like, I don’t think that’s right,” Moreira told CNN’s Ben Hunte.

Moreira said there was “a bit of commotion” when the ship’s masts hit the bridge but “also a lot of people started recording like me because it was just such a surreal experience.”

From the shore, Moreira said he could see people on the boat struggling after the collision.

“We could see some people being kind of dragged. There was some, I believe it was some of the staff, they were on the top of the boat. And they were swinging around, back and forth as soon as the ship hit the bridge,” he said.

“The ship was just so close to us, so we could see all those people really struggling to just like holding onto something to… don’t fall from the boat,” he added.

Correction: A previous version of this post misspelled Ben Hunte’s last name.

New York Fire Department divers prepare to dive the East River after the collision.

More than 100 fire and emergency medical service (EMS) personnel responded to the scene where a Mexican Navy sailing ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday night, according to the New York City Fire Department.

The NYFD said in an email to CNN it received the call that a ship had struck the bridge around 8:39 p.m. on Saturday.

“Once the marine units arrived on scene, we knew, initially, we knew immediately that we had a serious incident with a boat striking the bridge,” Chief of Training Michael Meyers said in a FDNY post on X.

Dual command posts were set up on the Brooklyn and Manhattan sides of the river and marine units were assisting in the emergency response, Meyers said.

In its email to CNN, the department said personnel from 25 units was deployed, including 106 fire and EMS workers.

“The police, fire and EMS did a tremendous job of working together to get everyone off of that ship safe,” said Meyers.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation.

The ship is seen damaged after it ran into the Brooklyn Bridge.

At least two people were killed and about 20 injured when a Mexican Navy training ship carrying 277 passengers struck the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York Saturday night, officials said.

Dramatic video shows the Cuauhtémoc’s masts hitting the underside of the bridge and breaking as the vessel passes underneath, with pieces falling down toward the deck.

Here’s what we know:

What happened: The incident occurred around 8:20 p.m. local time as the captain was departing from New York’s Pier 17. The ship’s masts struck the bridge, breaking on impact and sending debris falling onto the vessel’s deck. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the ship “lost power” and struck the bridge. City officials earlier said “mechanical issues” may have caused the incident, but cautioned all information so far is preliminary. The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation.

Casualties: Mayor Adams said at least two people were killed in the incident. The two individuals who died fell from one of the ship’s masts, a law enforcement official told CNN. Nineteen people were injured, with two seriously, Adams said. The Mexican Navy said a total of 22 people were injured, 19 of whom were taken to hospitals.

The bridge: There was no visible damage to the Brooklyn Bridge, which was left structurally intact by the incident. Traffic was temporarily closed in both directions for about 40 minutes, but was later reopened. Inspections remain ongoing.

The ship: The Cuauhtémoc is a training sailing ship of the Mexican Navy and a diplomatic symbol of Mexico abroad. Known as the “Ambassador and Knight of the Seas,” the ship was in New York as part of a global goodwill tour and was en route to Iceland at the time of the incident. The Cuauhtémoc was built in Spain in 1981 and acquired by the Mexican Navy to train cadets and officers. It regularly takes part in major regattas around the world. It had been docked at the South Street Seaport in New York since Tuesday.

A member of the New York Police Department harbor unit prepares to board the Cuauhtémoc.

At least two people were killed when the Mexican Navy sailing ship Cuauhtémoc struck the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday night, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

“At this time, of the 277 on board, 19 sustained injuries, 2 of which remain in critical condition, and 2 more have sadly passed away from their injuries,” Adams wrote on X.

The two individuals who died fell from one of the ship’s masts, a law enforcement official told CNN. They were pronounced dead after being taken to a nearby hospital, the official said.

The ship has since been moved to New York’s Pier 36, the official added.

City officials earlier said “mechanical issues” may have caused the ship to strike the bridge, but cautioned all information so far is preliminary.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation.

Videos posted on social media show the moment the mast of a Mexican Navy training ship struck the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York Saturday evening.

The ship, bedecked with white lights and flying a large Mexican flag, can be seen sailing closer to the edge of Brooklyn Bridge Park when its mast strikes the bottom of the bridge, snapping at parts and falling onto the deck below.

Crewmembers of the ship, Cuauhtémoc, can be seen clinging on to the mast after the incident. Bystanders on the dock can be heard screaming and seen in the videos running away from the scene.

There appears to be no damage to the bridge.

Pedestrians walking along Brooklyn Bridge Park look at a masted Mexican Navy training ship after it struck the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Mexican Navy training ship that struck the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday evening likely suffered a “mechanical issue” that forced the captain to lose power, police said in a news conference.

“The captain that was maneuvering the ship lost, I guess, power of the ship,” Chief Wilson Aramboles of the NYPD Special Operations Bureau told reporters Saturday evening.

Aramboles added that there were “some mechanical issues” that “probably” caused the ship, Cuauhtémoc, to strike the bridge.

Officials warned that the information provided is preliminary and subject to change. The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation into what happened.

The Cuauhtémoc was leaving New York and heading out to sea en route to Iceland when it struck the underside of the bridge.

Aramboles said a number of sailors were on top of the ship’s masts and were injured in the incident.

New York City’s famous Brooklyn Bridge was closed for about 40 minutes following the ship accident, according to a post on X from NYC’s official emergency notification system.

“The bridge is open at this time after our preliminary inspection,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during a news conference Saturday evening.

All lanes had previously been closed, the agency said on X at 10:06 p.m. ET.

By 10:48 p.m. ET, the bridge has reopened, the agency said on X while letting people know to expect delays.

New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks at a press conference, in this screengrab taken from a video.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said 19 people were injured after a Mexican Navy training ship carrying 277 passengers struck the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Four people have “serious” injuries, Adams said, adding “all passengers were safely removed.”

The Mexican Navy said a total of 22 people were injured, 19 of whom were taken to hospitals.

Adams said that city officials are working closely with Mexican officials on response efforts.

A Mexican navy ship sits in the water after it hit the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, on Saturday.

A Mexican Navy training ship struck the bottom of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York Saturday night, according to police and the Mexican Navy.

The sailboat hit the bridge around 8:26 p.m. and multiple people are being “aided,” a New York Police Department spokesperson told CNN.

A total of 19 people were injured, including four people with “serious” injuries, New York City Mayor Eric Adams told reporters from the scene.

“During the departure maneuver of the Cuauhtémoc Sailboat in New York, an incident occurred with the Brooklyn Bridge that caused damage to the Training Ship, temporarily preventing the continuation of the training cruise,” the Mexican Navy said in a post in Spanish on X.

“The status of the personnel and material is under review by naval and local authorities, who are providing support,” the post added.

New York emergency officials said they’re responding to an incident at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. “The situation is developing and details are not confirmed at this time,” NYC Emergency Management said on X.

This post has been updated with additional information.